PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — A Florida police officer is getting praise for darting into a busy interstate to rescue a dog that had just been hit by a car.
Pinellas Park police Officer Joseph Puglia tells ABC Action News in Tampa his heart “really sank until I started seeing him breathing.” The dog wandered onto Interstate 275 in Tampa on Sept. 19.
Video from Puglia’s dash cam showed him stop and get out within seconds of the dog getting hit. Puglia says he wrapped the dog in an emergency blanket, put him in his SUV and called dispatch.
The dog survived with minor cuts and bruises. Puglia says they nicknamed the dog, who ended up in the county’s animal shelter, Lucky. If no one claims Lucky, he says family members are ready to take him.
